After 22 salary and work surveys, 40 county employees will get new job descriptions or pay raises that will cost taxpayers $286,000 a year.

Laura Armor, the county’s personnel chief, said a series of job actions approved by county supervisors Tuesday means employees will get competitive pay – and the pay they deserve for the work they do.

Armor, who oversees a $4 million budget and 36 employees as head of the county Human Resources Department, issued her quarterly “position classification-equity adjustments” report, recommending that 40 employees get pay raises or new job classifications that could lead to higher pay. Armor’s plan was based on 22 studies covering the jobs of 63 people.

County supervisors approved Armor’s proposals for personnel shifts that will cost taxpayers $286,000 a year. Most of that money is already tucked into the county budget to allow for “equity” pay increases.

The moves are aimed at “working to retain our workforce and are the result of labor negotiations,” Supervisor Judy Arnold said.

Armor said county policy requires her to bring cases of inadequate compensation to the attention of county supervisors, who in turn approve raises or other adjustments, some of which are required by union contracts.

Usually, reviews requested by employees or their bosses or that are initiated by Armor’s department result in pay raises. Rare is the case of a pay cut. “We typically don’t get asked to do that,” Armor said.

But several employees who asked for job reviews some time ago, got them and didn’t like the results are appealing to the county Personnel Commission, she noted. “We just don’t automatically hike a salary,” she said.

– Airport Operations Coordinator Kenneth Robbins was renamed airport manager and given a 15 percent raise, bringing his annual salary to $79,581, because he has assumed additional management duties at Gnoss Field.

– A 10 percent raise was approved for jail Food and Support Service Manager Janice Wyatt-Lucha, bringing her annual salary to $96,699. She has taken on added duties of advising Juvenile Hall on dietary matters.

– A 4 percent raise for Assistant Garage Supervisor Robert La Prevotte, lifting his salary to $83,265. The raise was required by a union stipulation that managers earn at least 7 percent more than subordinates who report to them, and La Prevotte’s salary was deemed “compacted” because he manages Alfred Rodoni, a fire heavy equipment mechanic who makes $77,805 a year. La Prevotte’s boss got a 4.9 percent raise as well.

Armor’s pledge to the county’s 2,300 employees: “If the work you do is at a different level, we will look at it. We want the pay to reflect the work.”